Bats gets a new home in Ribble Valley village
BATS have been provided with a purpose-built roost in a bid to protect them after they set up home in a village hall.
The colony of pipistrelle bats in Slaidburn can now swoop in to their very own bat tube which has been installed in the sides of the building.
The hall has been home to a large colony of the creatures for some time, but new planning regulations meant that a recent refurbishment would have to include a haven to protect their welfare.
Protected species surveys are now a compulsory part of Ribble Valley Council's planning process and a survey at the village hall showed the bats roosting beneath the ridge tiles.
As a result, a bat tube had to be incorporated into the gable end of the building and special bat boxes fixed to the sides of the building.
Ribble Valley Council has signed up to the Lancashire Biodiversity Action Plan, which has targets for the preservation of the most threatened and declining species and habitats, including bats.
The council's countryside officer, David Hewitt, said: "Local authorities are now required to avoid any negative impact on threatened species and habitats. Ribble Valley Borough Council has met this challenge by introducing site specific planning conditions designed to create and enhance habitat, as well as bat surveys for all planning applications.
"We are also working closely with the East Lancashire Bat Group in the monitoring of bats in Ribble Valley."
Jean Lawson, chairman of Slaidburn and Easington parish council, said villagers were always keen to see the wildlife in the village protected.
She added: "There's always been bats in the village and we have always tried to protect them, which is what this bat tube will do."
Eight of the UK's 16 species of bats can be found in Lancashire and the Ribble Valley has a large population of pipistrelle and daubenton bats.
11:03am Friday 9th May 2008
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